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CompuServe to restore banned newsgroups

CompuServe has announced that it will bring back access to the 200 newsgroups it banned from 4 million members worldwide last week. CompuServe officials said they may still ban access in Germany by using technology the company is presently working on.

CompuServe has announced that next week it will bring back access to 200 banned newsgroups containing sexually explicit material, but may still ban access in Germany, where the newsgroups are illegal. The company is currently working on technology that will allow it to ban material in specific countries, according to CompuServe officials.

The online service will block material based on region requests; company officials say they will refuse to block newsgroups in the United States.

CompuServe claims that the German government threatened to take legal action if the company refused to pull the newsgroups. As a result, CompuServe said it will handle future bans on a "case-by-case basis."